Inflatable salvage device



May 3l, 1960 s. s. HATHAwAY 2,938,488

INFLATABLE sALvAGE DEVICE Filed July 1, 1957 INVENTOR. STEWART s.HATHAWAY AT TORNE Y United States Patent ice I i PatentedMay, 31, 12960-INFLATABLE SALVAGE DEVICE -I Stewart S. Hathaway, 95 Milton Road, Rye,N.Y.

Filed July 1, 1957, Ser. No. 669,052

2 Claims. (Cl. 114-54) Thisjinvention relatesto a buoyancy device andinparticular to an inilatable container suitable Yfor use in changing thebuoyancy of a body submergedin Water..

vSubmerged vessels frequently Vcarryenough valuable matterto justifyextreme salvage efforts but, 4in any case, withithe passage of timeiftheobjective in investigating thevessel is not salvage it is likely-to bepure curiosity.

A' variety of devices have been made for the purpose,4

each of which has its particular advantage in its own circumstances. Ingeneral, devices depend upon pontoonsfor raising kthe sunken vessel. Y

Itis a fundamental object of this invention toprovide as'imple deviceinflatable after a time delay for use in `altering the buoyancy of asubmerged object.

f It is'another object of the invention to provide a simple inflatabledevicewhich can be placed' in a submerged object and after a timeautomatically become inllated to.

tion fwith gas generating means and a gas retaining means,

such that upon submersion in water, with action ofthe water, there is atime delay followed by gas generation and ination ofacooperating gascontainer so that the 45 ultimate 'inflated' volume of the device ismany times the volume of the uninflated device.

The invention,accordingly, is embodied in the agent containing cartridgeand valve mechanism having the features of construction, the combinationof velements and 50 the arrangement of partshereinafterltobe describedin greater detail. l Y Y iIrithe drawings- Figure 1 isa longitudinalsection through theffcart'ridge structurev made in'accordance with theinvention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the device showing the partsafter reaction and ination of the gas container;

Figure 3 is a general diagram showing how the device is put to use, and

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section showing an alternative form.

Referring now to the drawings, in Figure l, ,10 represents the cartridgehaving a cylindrical body 11, with the ends having threads 12 and 13.The cap 14 is screwed 65 2 sion and `'to prevent the admission of waterWithin the cap until thejdesi'red time interval has elapsed.

Internally, longitudinal shaft 20 extends substantially thelength of theAcapsule and is provided at one end with 5 a plunger 21 fixed totheshaft by nuts 21. Shaft r20 acts as a guide'for the plungers Within thecapsule. Ata point removed from. plunger 21 by a known distance, plunger22 is slidably mounted on the shaft. In the positionshown inthed'rawing, a third plunger or collar 23 is Xed inthe Vcapsuleapproximately midway between the plungersor. collars 21v and 22. Collar23 is held in place,

by detents l24 and 25.'v .The latter may take the form ofv set screws orany other equivalentY mechanical devices.

Orifices 27 and 28 in collar 23' provide for internal communicationbetween the chambers 29` and 30 formed by.. the collars within thecapsule. Any number of'oriices corresponding to 27 and 28 may beprovided. In general twoA or four will be adequate. Membrane or disk23is placedadjacent to 'collar 23 to effect separation of compartments 29andfiit) and -preventsmixing of contents..- It mayfbel formed of.plastic, not affected by acid used,

` and' sufii'ciently thinv to bebroken under pressure. Also, o rices 31and'32'in the wall of the capsule are provided to communicate with theexterior, of the valve. Tapered` plugs 31 andv 32,' are set in theseorifices to prevent entryl i of water, yetto, permit blowingthem out'byinternally generated gals'.V `Surrounding the entire structure is theinflatablebag or container 35 which is .tightly fastened around the neckofthev capsule by means of the collar 15.

f Plug 1 8, which. is the seal, may bemade of any metal whichis quicklylco roded by water. It also must be of asize adequate ,towithstand'thepressure at whichth'e device is to beuSe'dQf l'I-Ierein is Vone of theadvantages of this structure over-'underwater devices which employr afrangible disk; Any device using the frangible disk does` not permittime ydelay beyond that requiredk tonplace it atA the predetermineddepth.

For purposes of this invention, aluminum disk or'plugs I are desirablevfora relatively-long period of delay. For

shorter periods' magnesiuml or magnesium-aluminum alloys mayv be used.These latter are of value, because they have high strength, but themagnesium is quite reactive with water and the plug may be made todissolve with relatively high degree of time control. i

Plunger 21, as shown, may consist of a metal disk ywith a matchingrubber seal`21. Plunger 22 is similarly constructed with seal 22.YRubber or other synthetic rubberlike Asealing material` which willprovide a close lit isy reactable with additional chemical materialplaced in the chamber 30 to1 produce a gas. In operation, therefore,whenv the kdevice'jis submerged and the plug 18.isV dissolved,vhydrostatic pressure appliedto lthe .plunger 21 55 moves itY towardtheix'ed collar 23, thereby applying' pressure to disk 23', fracturingit and forcing material from chamber 29 into chamber 30 where reactiontakes place. The gas generated forces collar 22 to slide on shaft 20 isto a position corresponding, for example, to

that shown in dotted lines, where it is stopped by stop nut 20',whereupon gas pressure builds up within the chamber, dislodges plugs 31and 32 and gas escapes through orifices 31 and 32 to inflate the bag 3S.Upon exhaustion of the chemical material by full reaction, the bag willbe rather fully inated and there is little danger of having the gasescape. Relief valves 36 and 37 may be set in the bag 3S to keep gaspressure in the bag to a safe level. Also, the amount of gas to begenerated is subject to close control by the size and nature of chargeused in chambers 29 and 30.

Suitable reactant materials for enclosure within the chambers 29 and 30are acid materials for 29, such as The chamber is charged with;'chemical material ,i

sulfuric or aceticr acids, and for the chamber 30 alkali metal'carbonate or bicarbonate'. It is' preferable that' the' reactants usedleave a water soluble or non-bulky residue.

However, despite this matter,vit is also possibleto usel calcium*carbide in' chamberl 30 and water in'cham'be'r 29.

The `only disadvantageV of this combinationis'that the acetylene'produced is ammable and' can involve so'm risks inthe ultimate workaround thevessel. n

Since the device maybe treated as expendable and may be intended forsingle occasion use, the materials of coni struction may correspond.Generally, I have found com'- mon iron pipe, ttings', and' rod usefulfor the 'b`ody"11, caps 14, 16, collar Internal plungers 21, 22 andcollar 23 may be of rubber or synthetic rubber materials, for example,Alternately a complete plastic device may be used. That is, all partsmay be formed of materials' amount of gas generated within the capsuleis approxi-V mately an optimum amount for inilating the bag to thedesired degree. In providing the bag, the depths at which it is to beused must be taken into account andl it' should be provided with reliefvalves or be inflated witha volume of gas which. it can retain at sealevel..` i That' is, if used at extreme depth and inflated atextremejdepth', the gas would be under quite high pressure (30 feetYofiwater would bean extra atmosphere of pressure)` and, accordingly,the bag could burst as itreachedA the surface. This phenomenon alsoworks to the advantageof the devicev for in raising a vessel by placinginflatedbagsfin it, the decompression of theA gas afteran equilibriumlfloating buoyancy is reached, increases the net buoyancy of the vesselandV causes it to rise rapidly.

Figure 3 illustrates the means for using. the capsules il` a salvageoperation. In Figure 3, 50 represents a body to divers, because aplurality of the capsules may be taken down to' a vessel and carefullyset' in place, with ample time for the diver to do the job and leave thescene.

IFigure 4 illustrates an alternative form of device in which thestructure is varied. Therein shaft 20, and collar 23 correspond to thoseshown in Figure l. Plunger 40 corresponds to 22 of Figure l but is fixedin place on shaft by stop nuts 41 and 42, In operation, therefore,

` when plugs-f18 and 18,'V dissolve, plungers 21 and 40 move with shaft20, i.e., to fixed collar 4`3l`whicl1 is held in place by detents 44 and45. Shaft 20 slides freely in collars 23 and 43 and the amount ofmovement is l fixed by the distance between the end of shaft 20 and thecap 14. Vents 3-1 and 32 are spaced from collar 43 suiiiciently topermit free discharge of gas when the plunger 40 has moved past orices31 and 32.

Though the invention has been described with reference to only a limitednumber of examples, it is to be understood that variants thereof may bedevised without' departing from its' spirit or scope..

What is claimed is:

' l'. A device for providing a time delayed action for inflation of agas-retaining container in a position sub-v merged in water, comprisinga suitable bag for retaining a` gas,` a capsule enclosed within saidbag, a cap at onel end'of saidv capsule providing exterior communicationand comprising a closure therefor, said capsule having internalsub-divisions, said sub-divisions containing gas generating means, anorilice in one of said subdivisions providing of water in which a vessel51 is submerged'and rests on Y the bottom 52. A barge 53 having locatedthe sunken vessel can connect with it by means of open pneumatic linesS4 and 55, these being applied by divers. Asuitable number of devicesmade in accordance with this invention are inserted and delivered tothesunken vessel b'y Way of the hoses. .In fact pneumatic delivery tubes inwhich compressed air is the motive power are useful. Y Within thecalculated period after delivery of the capsules to the vessel, reactionwith the water in the submerged vessel will bring aboutchemical-reaction within the capsule and inilation of the bags. Thecumulative etect of a. number of such bags, inated', is sucient to raisea vessel of any size. The time delay made possible by the water-reactiveplug in the capsule is very useful communication with the interior ofsaid bag,.and a- Water reactable plug in said cap, whereby followingreaction ofsaid plug with water hydrostatic pressure forces said gasgenerating means to generate gasand iniiate -said Vcentainesthrough saidorice communicating with 'the interior of said bag.

2'. A device for providing delayed action ination of a gas bag in awater submerged position, comprising a bag having. an opening thereinand suitabley for retaining a given volume of gas, a capsule enclosedWithin said bag, the opening in said bag being' gathered around one endo f said capsule, a cap covering said end of said capsule and forming aclosure therefor, said capsule having va l plurality ofinternal'sub-divisions, said sub-divisions containing gas generatingreactants, one of said sub-divisions having an orifice communicatingwith the interior of said bag, said cap being at least partially waterreactable to dissolve therein, whereby following submersion of thedevice and reaction with Water, hydrostatic pressure forces mingling ofvgas generating reactants within said capsule, thereby to generate gasand inate said container.

A References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS557,396 Kindt" Mar. 31', 1896 1,014,546 Wich Ian. 9', 1912 2,642,693Broady June 23', 1953 2,768,601 Davis Oct. 30,' 1956 i

